Thursday, June 04, 2009

It's almost over - final day of Landmark Tutorial

Just about to embark on the final day of the Landmark Tutorial. We have sparkling and fortifieds for this morning's sessions, followed by a presentation lunch at Peter Lehmann. Pictured above is the view from my room this morning at 7 am.

Yesterday we had some really interesting sessions. Chardonnay was first up, with tasting taking us through the evolving styles and regional differences. Then Tom Carson (below) delivered an amazing blind tasting of Pinot Noir, with Domaine de la Romanee Conti Romanee St Vivant 2002 as a ringer in the second flight (of older wines). No one picked it. It was, in truth, a disappointing wine - the least aromatically interesting DRC I've encountered.

Then in the afternoon, a blind tasting organized by Brian Croser, and held at Maggie Beer's farm. This was a complex yet fascinating exercise where we had to taste 20 high-end Aussie reds blind, and answer a set of questions about winemaking style (varietal/regional wine or a winemaker's wine), variety (Cabernet or Shiraz based), region, acid level (high, balanced, low), alcohol level and residual sugar (high, evident or dry). The results were compiled, and I'll be able to share them in due course.

So the Tutorial finishes today. It has been a fantastic, brilliantly conceived and near-flawlessly executed program. It will be sad to leave - both the lovely Louise (that's the place we're staying in, not a sheila), and also the wonderful tight-knit group of tutors and participants.